A torinói ló

The ever-howling wind lashes the parched landscape around a desolate wooden house – and echoes through the cinema auditorium. In Béla Tarr’s final film (co-directed by Ágnes Hranitzky), each day is much like the next; the arduous daily toil of a coachman and his daughter keeps repeating itself, interrupted only by a visit from a neighbor bringing ill news or by passers-by asking for water. Then, little by little, the well runs dry, the lights goes out, and the horse no longer manages to pull the cart. All that remains is the wind. Enigmatic, rigorous, utterly concentrated (and demanding the utmost concentration), Tarr’s final film turns the story of creation on its head in just under 30 shots. In the end, there is darkness and an existential experience of both cinema and immersive sound. (mg)